Barningham Ride

The weather couldn't have been better for my Barningham ride. As temperatures during the night had been below freezing the ground was hard and therefore we wouldn't have any problems with mud. On the day we had clear blue skies for terrific views, no wind and the sun to keep us warm. The good weather also ensured we had a decent turnout. Having coped admirably on John Deighton's recent hike up snow covered Lakeland Fells and with his confidence further boosted having just been awarded the President's Shield for junior achievement, Rob Turnbull decided he was ready for the ultimate challenge, one of my mountain bike rides. Also appearing for the first time were John and Robert. Another, hopefully new member was Paul out on his second ride with us. Geoff arrived with a message that Barbara and James would be late as they had to stop for petrol, I've often wondered how they manage to keep freewheeling even on the uphills. Making up the total of nine was Graham who had enthusiastically cycled from home.

We set off along the bridleway taking us briefly across Barningham Moor before joining the track to meet Moor Lane. We now faced a bit of a climb, but it was on tarmac, up to Holgate Moor where we took the bridleway down to Kexwith. Most of us kept to the public right of way and cycled through the ford but there were one or two who used the nearby footbridge, tut tut. Due to the wet weather we've had, the climb out of Kexwith is very rutted at present but it was made easier due to the ground being frozen and we were soon admiring the views from Schoolmaster Pasture. From here we headed west along Moresdale Road stopping for lunch at the old quarry. Here we were joined by two families (or one very large family) who had come up from the Midlands to spend half term cycling around Swaledale. Although I've yet to beat Alastair's record turnout for a ride, James reckons I can now claim the best attended lunch stop.

Rather than drop down into Langthwaite and be faced with the horrendous climb back out, we headed north keeping on high ground before dropping down to join the Stang Road. We still had some climbing to do to reach Stang Forest but again it was on tarmac. Our ride through the forest was across either mud or snow, lucky for us, both of which were still frozen. There was only one patch of mud which had thawed out, this being the one Rob fell into. On exiting the forest we headed along the easy track back to Barningham.

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	Swaledale Outdoor Club

Barningham Ride

Dave Neesam